Department of Immunology, Comenius University School of Medicine, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Mediators Inflamm. 2013;2013:963748. doi: 10.1155/2013/963748. Epub 2013 May 12.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms. It is caused by an autoimmune response to self-antigens in a genetically susceptible individual induced by unknown environmental factors. Principal cells of the immune system that drive the immunopathological processes are T cells, especially of TH1 and TH17 subsets. However, in recent years, it was disclosed that regulatory T cells took part in, too. Subsequently, there was endeavour to develop ways how to re-establish their physiological functions. In this review, we describe known mechanisms of action, efficacy, and side-effects of contemporary and emerging MS immunotherapeutical agents on Treg cells and other cells of the immune system involved in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. Furthermore, we discuss how laboratory immunology can offer physicians its help in the diagnosis process and decisions what kind of biological therapy should be used.
多发性硬化症（MS）是一种炎症性疾病，其中大脑和脊髓轴突周围的髓鞘受到损伤，导致脱髓鞘和瘢痕形成，以及广泛的体征和症状。它是由自身抗原在遗传易感个体中引起的自身免疫反应引起的，而这种自身免疫反应是由未知的环境因素诱导的。驱动免疫病理过程的主要免疫细胞是 T 细胞，特别是 TH1 和 TH17 亚群的 T 细胞。然而，近年来，人们发现调节性 T 细胞也参与其中。随后，人们努力寻找恢复其生理功能的方法。在这篇综述中，我们描述了当代和新兴的多发性硬化症免疫治疗药物对调节性 T 细胞和参与疾病免疫发病机制的其他免疫细胞的已知作用机制、疗效和副作用。此外，我们还讨论了实验室免疫学如何为医生提供帮助，以进行诊断过程并决定应使用哪种生物治疗。
